Tag: classic
The Exorcist – Film Review
By today’s desensitised standards, this horror classic – often cited as the Scariest Movie of All Time – is kinda dated, kinda slow and not that terribly scary. But its most notorious scenes and moments still have a power to disturb.
Rashomon – Film Review
I finally got around to watching Akira Kurosawa’s groundbreaking and influential 1950 masterpiece about the nature of truth. Though many movies since have borrowed its unconventional narrative structure and the idea of multiple perspectives of the same event, the film still remains an effective and striking watch today.
Rosemary’s Baby – Film Review
I just recently re-read Ira Levin’s chilling horror classic for the umpteenth time, so I thought I’d also look up the even more famous 1968 film adaptation with Mia Farrow.
The Birds – Film Review
You know the lockdown has warped your brain when, after watching Hitchcock’s classic horror-thriller about the flocks of killer birds terrorising a small seaside town, you’re still thinking wistfully of a coastal weekend getaway.
A Streetcar Named Desire – Film Review
I confess that most of my knowledge about A Streetcar Named Desire came from a classic Simpsons episode. But now I finally unwrapped the 1951 adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ stage play, after the DVD sat on my shelves for years.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin – Book Review
I read this remarkable landmark sci-fi novel all over again immediately after I finished it, which is exceedingly rare for me. I simply wasn’t satisfied with my first reading, which happened in short bursts separated by long periods of time; this is a kind of richly detailed and imaginative book that’s best appreciated by immersing yourself into it for a while.
Science fiction is a perfect medium for exploring “what if” scenarios, and the thought experiment in The Left Hand of Darkness goes like this: what would a human society look like if people had no fixed gender, and male/female dualism didn’t exist?
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant – Book Review
Time for some classic French literature! I first read Guy de Maupassant while still in Russia, and the worn-out collection of his short stories was one of the few books I took with us when we emigrated to Australia. In addition to being one of the greatest short story writers of all time, during his tragically brief time on earth (42 years to be exact) Maupassant also penned a few novels, which I never got around to reading in either language. Published in 1885, Bel-Ami is his second novel. I still think that Maupassant’s short stories are the best display of his strengths as a writer, but I very much enjoyed this book.
The Terminator & RoboCop – Film Review
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